Chapter 297: Journey to Ping An Province

Xue Pan ran out of the door excitedly after receiving the note. Jia Lian was unwilling to come and pushed all the handover matters to him alone.

He originally thought that Chen Heng would embarrass him, but who would have thought that it would be so easy. After finishing the work, Xue Pan rushed back to the inn to see Baoyu and others.

"It's strange..." After Xue Pan sat down, he began to drink water in big gulps, "I even prepared the money for the bribe."

"Then what?" Baoyu was sitting opposite Xue Pan, and couldn't help but curious when he heard the conversation.

"He gave me the note and let me go." Xue Pan himself said it unexpectedly.

Baochai, who was standing aside, looked at the two people looking at each other, and couldn't help but reminding: "I told you a long time ago that Brother Lin is different from the people you met in the past."

Perhaps she felt that what she said didn't sound good. Xue Baochai immediately added: "He can be looked at differently by Sister Lin, so how can he be a greedy and lustful mortal."

Although Baochai's relationship with the Chen family is not very close because of her brother's affairs. But Xue Baochai still has a very high evaluation of Chen Heng.

The two people in front of her, one is her brother and the other is her husband. Even if they don't want to listen to what Baochai says. They will not speak ill of her and question her intentions.

Baoyu didn't know what to say for a while, but Xue Pan took the initiative to find a place for him.

"Sister, you see." Xue Pan raised his sleeves, "This time my brother-in-law and I will do the job beautifully."

Before leaving Beijing, Aunt Xue repeatedly urged Baoyu to do the job well.

Now the Rongguo Mansion is in a state of trouble, the first room holds the title, and the second room lives in Rongxi Hall. In addition, Baoyu has already started a family, as long as Baoyu makes a career, it will be enough to convince others. Even though Wang Xifeng is her uncle's niece, Baoyu is her uncle's nephew, and now he has married his sister.

The Jia and Wang families are really related by Baoyu.

When my sister becomes the wife of a duke in the future, won't our Xue family have countless wealth and splendor?

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Chen Heng doesn't care about the Jia family's calculations. The situation in Songjiang Prefecture has been set. Unless the superiors issue a clear decree, no one can do it.

After Xue Pan left, he first called Liu Xianglian and asked him about the situation of the escort agency in the city. The latter has been dealing with people from all walks of life for many years, and he is even more familiar with the situation in the city and on the road.

"Sir, this business has added dozens of new ones in the city in the past six months." There are many smart people in the world. Where there is money to be made, where there is oil and water to be made. As long as there is some wind, many people will flock to it.

There are too many new shops opened in the city recently, and the county government has naturally kept a record of them, but Chen Heng doesn't have the energy to calculate them one by one.

After asking about the situation in this industry, Chen Heng couldn't help but say a few more words, asking about the relationship between escorts, guards and green forests. Liu Xianglian happened to have some experience in this field, and when he heard that the adults were interested in inquiring about the details of escorts, he immediately smiled and said, "My lord, people in this industry rely on their reputation in the underworld. Martial arts are secondary..."

Chen Heng was very interested in listening, and hurriedly asked him to explain the details. Liu Xianglian then said, "Generally, escorts have to explore the mountains and ask for directions when they go to places. Sir, you see, our escorts in Songjiang go out. Every time they arrive at a place, they will find the local escort agency to ask about the situation in the road. How to go this street, how to go around that mountain, the locals know it very well."

"The kind you are talking about, leading dozens of brave men to the mountains and forests to draw swords when they see bandits, is a very bad strategy. The evil species that can occupy the mountains and become bandits must have hundreds of people. If there are more and more fierce styles, no matter how many escorts they bring, it will not work."

"You can only meet the local escorts. If the goods are too valuable, you have to stay for a few more days and ask the local escorts to come forward and give the heroes in the mountains a reward and a show of strength."

"What do you mean by reward and a show of strength?" Chen Heng suddenly became interested and asked directly.

"This is all underworld talk. To put it bluntly, it's just a gift. After the bandits on the mountain had a meal, they would feel embarrassed to continue to take advantage of the host. Let them go if they should."

"Can it be like this?! Wouldn't it be that the two families are eating up the same family?" Chen Heng exclaimed in surprise. He thought that the so-called escorts were all tough guys who would cut through the mountains and hold the shining silver steel knives in their hands. Unable to help but laugh and shake his head, Chen Heng couldn't help but secretly thought, "What if the bandits insist on not letting go?"

"Then we have to find out whether there is a personal grudge or something else." Liu Xianglian finally said in a deep voice, "In short, these two roads have their own rules of the rivers and lakes. The escort agency cannot ruin the boss's livelihood, otherwise it will not be able to make a living in the future. A hero cannot do things to the extreme, otherwise it will not only be the government that will deal with it. When he gets into trouble in the future, the brothers on the road will also come to step on him, and no one can say that he is wrong."

"Then these bandits in Ping'an Prefecture..." Chen Heng continued to ask, "Can this method also be used to get through?"

Liu Xianglian heard this, but his face showed a bit of strangeness, "The bandits here are not easy to deal with."

Seeing that Chen Heng also showed a curious look, Liu Xianglian looked around and whispered to the adult's ear.

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Jia Baoyu's livelihood was very smooth in Songjiang. As soon as the shop opened in June, when the sand ship returned to the port in early July, Xue Pan had already taken a group of employees to Chuansha Hall to receive the goods. The details of the process were unknown, and Chen Heng had no intention of inquiring about other people's livelihoods. As long as the other party did business honestly and did not cause trouble in Songjiang, Chen Heng was unwilling to bother with them.

It is busy until mid-July, when the monsoon winds blow from the sea. At the four city gates of Songjiang, caravans traveling by land are indispensable. The escort bureaus in the city even set up shop here to directly solicit business.

Xue Pan originally planned to recruit more people, but when most of the escorts heard that the other party wanted to pass through Ping'an Prefecture, most of them refused to go with him. There are many places to eat in the world, and Ping'an State is such a place that people who are looking for a living are willing to go there.

After asking several companies, no one was willing to take the job. Xue Pan had no choice but to spend a huge amount of money, and only then did a Fujian escort agency take over the matter. The latter also had their word first, half of the money must be given first, and everything on the road must be obeyed by their orders. Xue Pan didn't dare to take the man on the road directly. Seeing that someone was willing to take on the job, he naturally agreed.

After finally getting the escort, it was natural to set off as soon as possible. Xue Pan was about to gather his men and walk out of the city, but was stopped on the road by someone.

"Liu Erlang, why are you stopping us?" Xue Pan was riding on the horse, looking at the majestic Liu Xianglian in front of him, somewhat unable to control the opponent's way. Who in Songjiang doesn't know that Liu Xianglian is Master Chen's right-hand man, and everyone is polite to him.

"Xue Pan, you are blessed today." Liu Xianglian was not the Liu Xianglian of the past. He sat on the horse and cupped his hands and said: "My master has an errand and I need to travel far. I happen to be traveling with you, so I will let you go today. I’ll protect you for a while.”

What is this thing called? Xue Pan was a little surprised and confused. He knew that Chen Heng might not harm him, but he would definitely not help him. But Liu Xianglian's martial arts skills are here after all. It is impossible to say that Xue Pan is not moved.

Seeing Xue Pan take the initiative to smile, Liu Xianglian waved her hand and said: "I'm just traveling with you, and we still eat our own food on the way. If you have anything, you don't have to ask me."

Just when Xue Pan was about to please him, he got a cold blow. But he didn't dare to get angry at Liu Xianglian. He had no choice, because there was brother-in-law Lin behind him.

The two parties gathered together for the time being, and under the noon sunshine, they exited the North City Gate and ran towards the capital.

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As soon as Xue Pan left Songjiang, Chen Heng received the news. He was a little surprised that Fool Xue would go on the road alone, and asked someone to ask about Jia Lian and Baoyu. Only then did I realize that these two people had recently been brought by Shi Ding to receive guests.

The Jia family's military background and popularity are the wealth accumulated over generations. Even the imperial envoy wanted to borrow the Jia family's gold noodle. With these two young masters around, Shi Ding could have a few words with whomever he was talking to.

Don't underestimate this face, it is most useful to the people in the military camp. It's a pity that Baoyu was not good at this. He followed Shi Ding for a few days and then excused himself from feeling unwell. Jia Lian followed Shi Ding happily and continued to display his golden face as the eldest son of Rong Guogong's eldest son.

Jia Lian and Shi Ding's schedule has been diverted to Hangzhou and other places. When they return from Zhejiang, the suppression of bandits will be put on the agenda. Chen Heng and Shi Ding had a bad time, and the communication between them was temporarily handled by the people below.

No matter how reluctant he is, the corvee documents that should be issued must be directed to the state capital. Chen Heng was busy preparing for military supplies, and he inevitably had to use some of his connections.

Merchants traveling from north to south have a mixed bag of information channels. You can't hide things like suppressing bandits even if you want to. Someone is willing to give Chen Heng some face and give him some help. Someone was more considerate and helped Chen Heng secretly collect information about Ping'an Prefecture.

The Songjiang Mansion was busy non-stop. Although the people had some complaints, they thought that this matter was what Mr. Chen asked for, and he responded to it like a cloud. Men who are about to leave home have received advice from their parents and wives: "Master Chen is a good official. He would quarrel with the imperial envoy for people like us. We can't help but be grateful. Now he has no choice but to ask for it on us." My son, when you go out this time, you have to do a good job for Mr. Chen."

"Mom and dad, I saved it."

The sons and daughters of each family walked out and began to register their households. When the county government official in charge of statistics handed over a long list of names. Chen Heng, who originally didn't want to go with him, changed his mind when he saw the heavy names on the paper.

Late one night, Chen Heng suddenly invited the two ladies in front of him. He pretended to be relaxed and said to Daiyu and Yinglian: "Yu'er, Lian'er, I've thought about it. I'm going to follow the imperial envoy to suppress the bandits this time." Go. No matter what happens in the end, I have to bring these folks back."

The two ladies had already received the news in the city, and they also knew what their husband-in-law was like. The people depended on their lives, so he would definitely not want to hide behind.

"I expected you to say that." Daiyu lowered her head with red eyes, "I won't stop you from doing this. I just hope you can promise me and come back safely."

However, Yinglian took out the clothes and shoes she had prepared a long time ago, and said in a trembling voice: "Sister Lin said before that you would go on a long trip, but I still didn't believe it. If I had known you had this idea, I...I..."

Knowing this, I feel sorry for the two ladies. Chen Heng felt guilty and had no choice but to step forward and hug the two of them, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I will come back safely and bring the people in the city with me."

No matter how much words you say, it will be useless at this moment. Daiyu and Yinglian had no other choice but to take out as much time as possible and cherish Chen Heng's days at home.

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More than half a month after leaving Songjiang, Xue Pan and others finally entered Ping'an Prefecture with the goods. Ping'an Prefecture is actually very large, with many mountains and rivers in its territory. The official roads are tortuous and the countryside is scattered.

When walking in such a dangerous place, the escorts who escorted us must be very alert. Xue Pan is a fool, but he is not a complete fool. He was obedient along the way and obeyed the advice of these escorts. With veterans in the martial arts leading the way, everyone had a safe and uneventful journey.

Said to be traveling together, Liu Xianglian was actually following far behind the team. He has one man, one horse and two swords, as long as he is not in a desperate situation. Riding Chen Heng's little white horse, you can go anywhere in the world. This time when he went out, he even took an errand from Chen Heng to explore the mountains and rivers of Ping'an Prefecture.

The caravan walked on the official road for half a day, and the escort was determined to complete the journey in one breath. Unexpectedly, when Xue Pan saw that the journey was uneventful, he became lazy and insisted on having lunch before leaving. The escort had no choice but to tell his men to be more agile, finish their meal quickly and get on their way.

"What are you afraid of?" After Xue Pan learned this, he couldn't help shouting, "The mountains that should be worshiped and the points that should be raised have been taken care of. If we don't even let people eat good food, how much will these bandits eat in our family?" , I let them spit it out."

Thinking that his uncle was about to suppress the bandits and there were no outsiders around, Xue Pan couldn't help but become more talkative. He looked down upon the audience and set his sights on the flagpole fluttering in the wind. The characters "Jia" and "Xue" on the top are so conspicuous.

After getting along for a long time, the escorts also knew the young master's temper. Now that he has taken on the job, he must protect Xue Pan even if he complains again. In addition to sending more people to guard everywhere, a younger bodyguard came to his leader and complained softly: "Uncle, when I go back, I don't want to take on his errands again."

"Get the things in front of you done first." The old escort glanced at the young junior and told him not to let his resentment slip. In the escort agencies in Fujian, most of the internal personnel are related to each other. When away from home, without such a background as a guarantee, no one dares to trust the other person's back.

The clear wind blew and Xue Pan had a full meal comfortably. The sun was shining brightly at noon, so he hid in the carriage and just took a rest. After walking out of the carriage on the official road, unexpected shouts of murder suddenly came from outside.

Xue Pan, who was still sleeping, suddenly woke up. He lifted the car curtain and poked his head out, and saw a group of robbers running out of the woods in the distance. Seeing the panic of the bodyguards, Xue Pan hurriedly exclaimed: "What's going on, what's going on? Didn't we take care of everything as we said? You guys should say something!"

The old escort leader didn't know what was going on, but he saw the robbers coming to kill him without any explanation. He rode on the horse and said loudly: "Friends with green waters and green mountains, please slow down. There is a pole hanging high on the faucet. Lord Dragon has eaten in the kiln and had his teeth wet. He also gave me words..."

The jargon on the road comes out one after another. The general idea is that we understand the rules and have already handed gifts to the local leaders. The old escort still refused to stop when he saw these people, and the sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks.

The shouts of killing were getting closer and closer, and Xue Pan and the waiters in the store had already panicked. Xue Pan couldn't help but yelled at the old escort: "What's going on? Haven't we already paid? What should we do now?"

The old escort leader didn't know it himself. He held the handle of the knife in one hand and called more than 20 disciples around. The bandit leader who ran closer finally came face-to-face and immediately raised his voice: "The leader made the right words. Around Shenshi, I passed by a house that hung the Jia family's flagpole. Before you came, you just passed by a house whose flag head was exactly the same as yours... …”

When the old escort heard this, he cursed in his heart. This was fake Li Kui borrowing the real Li Kui's body. Someone was playing a monkey to steal peaches. People who have been doing business all year round know that some unscrupulous people will secretly follow the caravans that have been arranged to cross the border.

Such a desperate plan to directly get ahead of others is really unethical and despised by the world. The old escort had doubts and looked directly at Xue Pan. This young master of the club will not offend anyone secretly.

Xue Pan was so frightened that he heard the robbers saying, "Leave money to buy your life." Seeing that the situation was not good, Xue Pan hurriedly shouted to the robbers: "Here, hero, we can give you money!"

When all the bodyguards heard their boss shouting like this, they didn't care about the morality of the world. The opponent is coming with force, let's get through the difficulties first. The old guard leader immediately led his disciples in shouting: "Heroes, don't panic, our boss is willing to give up money."

"Okay, okay, you guys quickly step aside. We're only taking things, and we won't hurt your lives at all." The leading bandit leader was overjoyed, shouting and speeding up his pace.

While Xue Pan and others were hesitating, Liu Xianglian, who could no longer stand it, stepped forward immediately. He took a closer look behind him and saw the bandits who couldn't stand it anymore and secretly pulled out their weapons.

These people didn't come to rob the house, they came to take Xue Pan's life.

"Draw your sword and kill with me."

Before Xue Pan could react, Liu Xianglian was already yelling at the escorts: "A bunch of idiots, they want your lives."

Everyone woke up from a dream this time and opened their weapons. The opponent was already coming to kill them. Whether they were calculating mentally or not, several bodyguards fell off their horses in just a few ups and downs.

Blood stains were accompanied by the neighing of horses. In the uninhabited wilderness of Ping'an Prefecture, a carefully planned ambush awakened the dreams of countless people.

Coming, coming.